How do you hire a roofing contractor?
Four checks: verify the Maryland MHIC license number in the state lookup, ask for a certificate of insurance sent directly by the insurer, insist on a written line-item scope naming products, and refuse any deposit that looks like a large share of the job. Ours is MHIC #111971, and a roof runs $600 to $900 per square.
The four checks, in the order to do them
How to check a roofing contractor before hiring
Every one of these can be done without the contractor cooperation, which is the point. They verify rather than ask.
- Verify the license, not the number on the truck Maryland home improvement work requires an MHIC license. Look the number up in the Maryland Department of Labor licensing search yourself and confirm the name on the license matches the name on the contract. A number printed on a vehicle proves nothing about whether it is current or whose it is.
- Get the certificate of insurance from the insurer Ask for general liability and workers compensation certificates to be sent to you directly by the insurance agent, not forwarded as a PDF. Without workers compensation cover, an injury on your roof can become a claim against your homeowner policy.
- Require a line-item written scope The contract should name the products by manufacturer and line, state the underlayment, the ice barrier coverage, the flashing that is new rather than reused, the ventilation, and the per-sheet rate for any decking found rotten. A one-line total is not a scope.
- Look at the payment schedule before the price A normal structure is a modest deposit to schedule and order material, a payment on material delivery or at start, and the balance on completion after you have seen the finished work. A demand for half or more up front is the single most reliable predictor of a job that goes wrong.
How roofing contractors get paid, and what is normal
Understanding the money is most of understanding the risk. On a retail job, a roofing contractor typically takes a deposit to schedule the work and order material, then the balance on completion. Material for a whole roof is delivered and paid for before the crew arrives, which is the legitimate reason a deposit exists at all. What is not legitimate is a deposit sized like a payment.
On an insurance job the flow is different and worth knowing in advance. The carrier usually issues an initial payment based on actual cash value, the work is done, and the recoverable depreciation is released after completion is documented. That means a contractor is often carrying the depreciation until the final invoice, and it also means you should never be asked to sign over the whole claim before anyone has been on the roof.
On an approved claim your deductible is typically your out-of-pocket cost. It is illegal in Maryland for a contractor to pay, waive, rebate or absorb it, and any offer to do so — however it is worded — is an offer to commit fraud on your policy in your name.
A deposit covers material and scheduling. Half of a five-figure job is not material, it is working capital, and a company that needs your money to start your job is being funded by its customers rather than by a bank. That is the shape of the failure where the crew stops appearing.
Ask instead: What does the deposit pay for specifically, and can I pay the material supplier directly instead?Materials and labour do not become cheaper because you signed on a Tuesday. An expiring discount exists to stop you getting a second opinion, and a second opinion is the single most useful thing you can do before spending five figures on your house.
Ask instead: Send it in writing and I will look at it alongside the others.A contract with a blank scope, a blank price, or an authorisation to do whatever the insurance approves is a contract you have not read because it has not been written. The scope is the product you are buying.
Ask instead: I will sign when the scope and the total are both on the page.Can a general contractor replace a roof?
Legally, in Maryland, a licensed home improvement contractor can perform roofing work, and plenty of general contractors do. The question is not whether they may but whether it is the right choice for the job. A roof replacement is a single-trade job with a manufacturer system warranty attached to it, and those warranties are generally only available through installers the manufacturer has certified. A general contractor subcontracting the roof adds a layer of coordination and margin without adding a layer of accountability.
Where a general contractor is the right answer: when the roof is part of a larger project — an addition, a whole-house exterior, a fire or water restoration — and one party has to own the sequence between trades. United Developers works both ways, as a roofing contractor and as a general contractor on larger exterior and interior projects, and the honest answer on a straightforward roof replacement is that you want the people who do them every day.
Hiring questions
How do I check if a roofing contractor is licensed in Maryland?
Maryland home improvement contractors are licensed by the Maryland Home Improvement Commission and the register is searchable through the Maryland Department of Labor. Look up the MHIC number yourself rather than accepting a number quoted to you, and check that the licensed name matches the name that will appear on your contract, because a salesperson working under somebody else license is a common arrangement and it decides who you have recourse against. Ours is MHIC #111971.
How do roofing contractors get paid?
On a retail job, typically a modest deposit to schedule the work and order material, then the balance on completion once you have inspected the finished work. Material for a full roof is bought and delivered before the crew starts, which is the legitimate purpose of a deposit. On an insurance job, the carrier usually issues an actual cash value payment first and releases the recoverable depreciation after the completed work is documented, so the contractor carries part of the value until the end.
What should a roofing contract include?
Full legal business name, MHIC license number and address. A line-item scope naming the shingle by manufacturer and product line, the underlayment type, where ice-and-water membrane goes, which flashings are new rather than reused, the ventilation being installed, and the per-sheet rate for replacing rotten decking. The total, the payment schedule and what triggers each payment. Start and completion expectations. Both warranties, manufacturer and workmanship, with their terms. And the Maryland three-day right to cancel.
How much deposit is normal for a roof?
Enough to order material and hold a slot, not enough to fund the company. Maryland law caps what a home improvement contractor may take before work begins, and the practical rule for a homeowner is simpler: if the up-front request looks like a serious fraction of the whole job, ask precisely what it buys. A contractor who cannot buy your material without most of your money is a contractor whose next customer money pays for your roof.
Should I hire a local roofer or a national company?
The distinction that matters is not local against national, it is who is accountable in year three. Ask how long the entity on the contract has been trading under that name, who honours the workmanship warranty, and whether the crew is employed or subcontracted. A long-established local company and a large national one can both answer those well. A company that appeared in your area after a storm and has an out-of-state address on the paperwork usually cannot.
Is it worth getting three quotes?
Two or three, and compare them on scope rather than on total. Quotes for a roof are only comparable when they describe the same roof, and the gaps are usually in the invisible items — whether the flashing is new, how far the ice barrier runs, whether the ventilation is calculated or reused, whether decking has a published rate. A cheaper quote is often a smaller job. Reading them side by side line by line takes half an hour and is the highest-value half hour in the process.
Where to go next
Once you have the quotes in front of you, these are the pages that make them comparable.
How to read a roofing estimate
What the price is made of, the seven places a cheap bid gets cheap, and how to compare two quotes line by line.
Read the standard →ScopeWhat is included in a roof replacement
The line-item scope and the average cost, so two quotes can be compared on the same basis.
See the numbers →WarrantyWhat a roof warranty actually covers
The two separate warranties on every roof, and the exclusions that surprise homeowners.
Read the standard →ShinglesGAF, TAMKO, Owens Corning and CertainTeed compared
Four architectural shingles compared on wind coverage, algae warranty, nailing zone and price band.
Read the guide →